WASHINGTON - March 27 - The Real News' Paul Jay spoke with Noam Chomsky, professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to get his thoughts on the Obama-Geithner plans for bank reform.  

"They're simply recycling pretty much the Bush-Paulson measures, changing them a little, but essentially the same idea.  Keep the institutional structure the same, try to kind of patch things up, bribe the banks and investors to help out, but avoid the measures that might get to the heart of the problem," says Chomsky.  

The plans create a "win-win situation" for investors, he argues:  "It means that an investor can, if they want, purchase these valueless assets, and if they happen to go up they make money and if they go down the government insures it.  So there might be a slight loss but there could be a big gain....if you're the investor.  For the public, it's a lose-lose situation." 

Chomsky believes the system is built in a way that often penalizes the public:  "Fact of the matter is, it's almost always public money....The public pays the cost and takes the risk and the profit is privatized." 

He believes the first steps towards democratization involve nationalization and public accountability.  "For a start, corporations, banks and so on should be responsible, I think, to stakeholders [as opposed to shareholders].  That's not a huge change....It's a way to keep communities alive and industry here." 

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